Outrun Change

Typical time for drilling a well in Bakken

I’d been wondering about this.

Here is an indication of the time it takes to drill a well, from Stephen J. Lee in the Grand Forks Herald  - Record rig count on N.D. Oil Patch:

Actual drilling time is under 20 days. Add in time to move to another location and it’s about a month. Here is Mr. Lee’s comment. Notice the mention that sometimes a rig will be used to drill three wells from the same pad:

Each rig can complete a new well about every month, when moving to a new location is accounted for, according to oil industry leaders; some wells are completed in less than 20 days. Some rigs drill three wells on the same location, moving only a few feet and tapping the crude for 2 miles in each direction.

Fracking takes a few more days.

There are less fracking crews that the wells being drilled. Mr. Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources, says in his Director’s Cut – 05/25/2012 update that there are 248 wells ready to be fracked but are waiting for crews to do the fracturing.

Mr. Helms also said the activity will likely slow down in the next couple of months because spring weather means the load limit will be lower on roads. That tells me it will take more trips for all the trucks since they can carry less water, sand, proppant, or pipes than during the winter months, when the ground is frozen.